Boys' name · since 1880
William
4,199,696 babies named William in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1947. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #5 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #9 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 4,199,696
- born since 1880
- 1950s
- peak decade
William currently ranks #9 among boys' names in America, with 4,199,696 babies recorded since 1880.
Social Security Administration records show William recorded 4,199,696 times among boys since 1880, holding rank #9 nationally today, ahead of 99.9% of boys, peaking in the 1950s. This profile derives year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #5 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #9 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 4,199,696 born since 1880
- 1950s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, William ranks #5 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #9 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 4,199,696 born since 1880, peaking in the 1950s.
- #5 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #9 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 4,199,696
- born since 1880
- 1950s
- peak decade
William's 4,199,696 recorded births place it above 99.98% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by New York.
How William compares
4,199,696 Top 1% higher than 99% of 13,930 names currently given to boys
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
William's all-time total is 11,381x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | William | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 4,199,696 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 67,002 | 34 | 22,252 |
William's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
William splits its recorded history at 1953: 48% of all births land in the more recent half, 52% in the earlier half, an evenly balanced pattern over time. The single quietest year was 1901 (5,990 births) -- compare that against the 1947 peak of 67,002 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
William popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1947)
- 67,002
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
William popularity over time - girls
16,029 total births recorded since 1880 (William as girls' name)
William by decade
1950s is the heaviest window (591,228 births, 14% of the file).
1950s was William's strongest decade.
591,228 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 14% of all-time use.
William births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 84,881
1880s
84,881 births
- 1890s 72,244
1890s
72,244 births
- 1900s 69,320
1900s
69,320 births
- 1910s
1910s
303,017 births
- 1920s
1920s
512,402 births
- 1930s
1930s
416,730 births
- 1940s
1940s
556,478 births
- 1950s
1950s
591,228 births
- 1960s
1960s
421,433 births
- 1970s
1970s
283,401 births
- 1980s
1980s
248,277 births
- 1990s 217,822
1990s
217,822 births
- 2000s 194,415
2000s
194,415 births
- 2010s 159,981
2010s
159,981 births
- 2020s 68,067
2020s
68,067 births
What this shows Peak: 1950s at 591,228 births (14% of all-time use).
How William compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to William's total volume
William by state
Where William concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | | 325,455 | 7.7% |
| #2 | Pennsylvania | | 303,784 | 7.2% |
| #3 | California | | 221,142 | 5.3% |
| #4 | Ohio | | 206,405 | 4.9% |
| #5 | Illinois | | 201,081 | 4.8% |
| #6 | Texas | | 185,794 | 4.4% |
| #7 | North Carolina | | 161,929 | 3.9% |
| #8 | Michigan | | 143,624 | 3.4% |
325,455 of 4,199,696 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
William appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name William? ▼
Where does William sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was William most popular? ▼
Where is William most popular? ▼
How long has the name William been used? ▼
What names are similar to William? ▼
What to do with William's data
- William's decade-level peak was the 1950s (591,228 total births); usage has since declined to 68,067 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- New York records the most Williams (325,455 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. New York names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring William
Nearby Names Like William
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to William
Compare William side by side: William vs Willie William vs Willard William vs Wilbur
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to William
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for William: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1947)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for William draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.